Proud of your downtown vegetable garden? It’s time to show it off.

Show What You Grow is an event for community members to show off what they’ve grown this season in downtown Lewiston, to share urban gardening tips and get to know other gardeners in the neighborhood. Gardens may be those cultivated in-ground, in porch pots or in window boxes.

The tour will be held Tuesday, Aug. 19. The group will meet at the Lewiston Farmers’ Market in Kennedy Park at 5:30 p.m. Tour will start at 6 p.m. and ends with a slide show and refreshments at St. Mary’s Nutrition Center at 208 Bates St.

Rain date is Thursday, Aug. 21.

If you don’t live downtown but want to show off your garden, you may e-mail a photo and Show What You Grow will include that photo in the slide show.

If you want to be included in the tour, either on the walk or with a photo, contact St. Mary’s Lots to Gardens at 513-3847, or [email protected]

– Judith Meyer
$9 million unclaimed in stimulus checks

According to Maine Center for Economic Policy, there are 30,819 low-income seniors, veterans and people with disabilities in Maine who have yet to claim their economic stimulus payments from the federal government.

The total amount that has so far gone unclaimed is $9,245,700. That’s a lot of money available and it takes almost no effort to collect.

In order to qualify for a stimulus check, you have to file an income tax return. There are special rules this year to allow people to file returns up to Oct. 15, so there are still almost two months left to claim the money.

“Many of the seniors who haven’t filed yet are homebound and may need special assistance,” said Jud Dolphin, director of AARP Maine chapter. “Family members and friends should check in with the seniors they know to make sure they’re aware they can qualify for the payment and get the help they need.”

A lot of Maine’s seniors and low income citizens haven’t filed income tax returns in years because their income is too low to require filing, which means that many people who are entitled to stimulus checks may be intimidated by the paperwork. That doesn’t need to be the case, according to Dolphin.

There is a lot of help available for people to figure out the form:

• Go to AARP’s online Q-and-A About Economic Stimulus Payments. The answer to Question 3: What if I don’t normally file a tax return? includes simple step-by-step instructions for how to file for stimulus rebate only. Or try the AARP’s online Stimulus Payment Tool.

• Contact one of the IRS’ 5 Maine Taxpayer Assistance Centers, which are listed in your phone book.

• Use free online software from PTLA’s tax partner I-CAN or one of the free online services offered through the IRS.

Or, perhaps the easiest way to figure this all out, is to call “211” and ask for a free help site in your area.

– Judith Meyer